The Sapphire Heart Alchemist
by Mikado K
Summary: Given his alchemist name by the people he spent so much time helping and NOT the military, Kei wants only to keep doing so unhindered. Certain events, however, may force his hand. Where will this path lead him? When did he see the gate and get his power?
1. Chapter 1

Hiya. My first submission on and I'm not alone in my endeavor. Aiding me is one of my best buds who also has an account here on going by the name Darago here. The two of us shall be alternating chapters. I will be writing the first, then he'll be working the next one, and so on and so forth, though the story shall be posted on this account. It will be interesting to see how the contrasting writing styles work.

We hope that this fanfic will entertain anyone that reads it, despite any continuity disrepancies there might be within. It's surrounding the world of Fullmetal Alchemist which, along with the slight reference mentioned momentarily (DISCLAIMER), is not owned in any shape, form or fashion by either of us, so it ought to be interesting enough to some for that reason alone.

Oh, and, Beyblade fans, the outfit that the main character wears should ring a bell. :P Without further ado, though, let the story begin.

_Italics _denote thoughts.

**_The Sapphire Heart Alchemist_**

_**Chapter 1**_

"Damn, it's hot..."

This was the grumbled utterance of a silver-haired young man as he walked through the desert, trying to make his way towards Central from Lior. He wore a short sleeved yellow and green shirt with orange suspenders, the straps tied firmly about his waist like a belt, as well as green, fingerless gloves and green and white shoes to go along with the outfit. He offset the look with a pair of black shades that he kept to keep his eyes safe from the scorching sunlight of the desert as he trudged through it. "You'd think that if the people in Lior were so grateful, they'dve offered me some sort of transportation to Central..." Kicking up a bit of sand in frustration, the boy slogged on tiredly, his throat dry from the unforgiving heat of the sun. He wasn't sure if he was seeing a mirage or not after a bit longer, but either way, it was a relief to see that Central was finally in sight. It pleased him even more to see that it was in fact NOT an illusion as he made it to the city gates, where two soldiers wearing navy blue uniforms outfitted with yellow lining and buttons and black boots stood guard.

"Welcome to Central.", the men said, opening the gates for him, to which he nodded gratefully. "Kei Mikado, the Sapphire Heart alchemist?", one of the guards asked, to which the boy, Kei, nodded once more. "That's what some people call me.", he said, wiping some of the sweat off his brow with his shirt. One of the guards smiled. "The Fuhrer is waiting for you. Please, go and see him immediately." The silver-haired boy gave another nod. _"Fuhrer Mustang wants to see me, huh?"_, he thought, bemusedly. "Alright, I'll do just that, thanks.", he responded, heading into the gates, one of the guards accompanying him. "Mr. Mikado...", the soldier began, "...your exploits of helping people have become known all throughout the region. I think the Fuhrer has taken an interest in your abilities." "I kinda figured as much when you told me.", Kei said with a smirk. "I was wondering what the military wanted with a hack like me, but if the Fuhrer himself needs to see me for some reason, I suppose saying no is all but out of the question. Besides, I'm wondering what sorta guy this Mustang character really is." The guard looked at him and blinked. "Well, sir, if I may be blunt, he isn't the Fuhrer for no reason." Kei gave a slightly nervous grin, waving his hands defensively as the two walked through the city towards Central's base, talking. "Yeah, yeah, I'm just hoping he isn't aiming to turn me into a military man. I feel a lot better doing what I do the way I do it."

The soldier gave a wry laugh as the two reached the doors of Central's base, where yet another soldier was standing guard. The soldier accompanying Kei saluted the one at the door and they opened the doors to the base, escorting Kei into the looby of the base, where a blond, slim, yet well-built female wearing the same type of uniform that the men were wearing stood near a desk. _"She's awfully stoic."_, Kei thought, looking at the woman as the soldiers he was with saluted her. "At ease.", she said softly, to which the soldiers responded by dropping their arms back to their sides. "Brigadier General Hawkeye, the Sapphire Heart alchemist has arrived and we have brought him here, as instructed.", one of them said, to which she nodded. "Good work, you two.", she said, smiling slightly. "Return to your posts, and I shall see to him here on after." "Yes, ma'am!!", the soldiers responded, walking off. The blond woman waited patiently for the two of them to leave the building before moving to a nearby table, picking up some documents she had set down, looking them over. Kei watched her curiously for a moment before his eyes began to wander about the expensive (not to mention massive) building he was in. "So...", he began, "...just what is it that the Fuhrer wants to see me for...?"

"You can ask him yourself.", Hawkeye replied curtly, to which Kei nodded, saying "Fair enough.", afterwhich the two were on their way, walking up the stairs to the upper levels of the building, going to the centermost room on the top floor where Kei could immediately see someone sitting in a chair which was turned towards the window, away from the door. Hawkeye stood in the doorway, giving a salute. "Sir, Kei Mikado, as you requested.", she announced, to which the Fuhrer's hand waved nonchalantly and a voice answered "As you were, Brigadier General." Hawkeye turned and headed off to tend to her duties once more, shutting the door behind her as she left the room. No sooner than had she left did the chair seating the Fuhrer begin to turn slowly. "Have a seat.", the man's voice said as the chair finally turned completely about, allowing Kei to see the middle aged, raven-haired man known to all as the Fuhrer of the military, looking at him with an almost amused look upon his face, his chin resting on one hand. "Fuhrer Roy Mustang...", the boy muttered quietly, taking note of the eyepatch the man wore as he sat down in a chair opposite to the man. "And you're Kei Mikado.", Mustang recited. "The Sapphire Heart alchemist." At this, the silver-haired boy nodded. "Yeah, the people kinda took to that name, though I think I know why.", he retorted, looking away for a moment before casting his gaze back to Mustang. "If I may be so inclined to ask, to what do I owe the honor of being called to Central by the Fuhrer himself?" At this, Mustang clasped his hands together, though his smug exterior didn't leave him in the least as he began to explain just why Kei was summoned to Central. "Your exploits have been reported throughout many, many regions.", he began. "An alchemist that not only has the basics of transmutation down to a tee, but one that has also successfully mastered human transmutation to such as extent that it can be performed without consequence." "To a point.", Kei corrected him. "I can heal wounds, cure some diseases, but like with everyone else, the powers of life and death are otherwise beyond my reach. Those stories seem to be the most well-known, and while I do take a slight measure of pride in knowing that my name is being passed around in good nature, I don't like the attention it garners from other alchemists, or for that matter..." A gaze towards Mustang, who caught the drift. "...from the military, right?", he finished, to which Kei nodded.

"Yeah...", he said. "I've never been fond of the idea of serving in the military, not after all the shady stories I've heard concerning the former Fuhrer, so if I'm here to be recruited, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not exactly interested." At this, Mustang smirked. "I know how you must feel.", Mustang said matter-of-factly, "You must keep in mind, however, three things, those being that because of your talents, you are being sought by other alchemists so that they can learn your secrets. That alone makes it unsafe for you to be out in the world without any sort of protection, legal or otherwise. The second thing you need to know is that your acts may be seen by some as heroic, but to others, you have been committing a sin against God by practicing what you have, so not everyone will react kindly to you. Finally, the fact that the military, as you can see, is now governed under new management." Kei thought about these points, and no matter which way he looked at it, he realized that Mustang indeed had good points on all three accounts. He gave a sigh, then shook his head a bit. "I'm honored by your generous offer...", the young man said, bowing his head slightly out of respect for the Fuhrer, "...but I have to decline. I just feel like I'd be better off on my own. I hope you'll understand." Roy Mustang closed his eyes, the smug smile still on his face. "I understand.", he nodded. "You know where to find me should you ever reconsider for any reason. All I ask is that you take a walk around the town and think about my offer before you leave." "I will. Thanks, Fuhrer.", Kei responded, walking out of the office, closing the door behind him. Mustang clasped his hands together once more as he watched the boy leave. "Good luck keeping yourself on the straight and narrow, kid.", he murmured, knowing just how far some depraved men would likely try to go in order to get Kei to use his talents for them since he was somewhat known.

After some time, Kei made his way out of the military base in Central, walking about the town. From the moment he exited the military building, he could hear a commotion stirring from the townspeople, as well as angry screaming. He also made notice of many of the townspeople giving him several different varieties of looks, some disdainful while others seemed to almost be hopeful. He ignored them and made his way over to a destroyed fruit stand where he watched the man in charge of it seemingly distraught over the fact that it had been ransacked and wrecked by some hoodlums prior to Kei's exit from the military building. The stand itself was destroyed beyond repair by normal human standards, and most of the fruit had been destroyed along with it, mashed into a fine paste on the ground near the stand. Kei watched the man pound his fist on the ground in anger before kneeling down near him where he noticed that the man had torn the skin on his hand in several places, likely during his fit of anger, pounding on the ground. "You alright...?", he asked quietly, causing the man to look up angrily. "Does it look like I'm alright?!", the man yelled at him furiously. "Those bastards destroyed my fruit stand! Those are the worst kind of alchemists--the kind that pick on people just because they have the power to do so without caring about the well-being of anyone else!!"_ "Alchemists...?"_, Kei thought for a moment.

The other townspeople had gathered, and were watching the events with interest, not knowing who Kei was. He passed his eyes through the crowd, seeing that some of them had moved slightly closer, while more people had gathered, trying to see what everyone else was going on about. Kei smiled down at the man, clapping his hands, then gently taking the man's bloodied hand into his own. "This won't hurt a bit, okay?", he promised the man, who had the urge to pull away for but a moment, though he didn't heed it. A soft, blue glow and a feeling of warmth passed through his hand, and the next thing he knew, it had been completely healed, as though the man had never injured it in the first place, which got a collection of "Oohs!" and "Aahs!" from the townspeople that were watching. Kei then turned his attention towards the destroyed fruit stand. "Hey, I'm going to have to ask you to stand aside for a second, okay...?", the silver-haired boy asked the man gently, to which the man looked up at him, wondering just what this strange boy could have in mind. Doing as he was told, he scurried out of the way. The silver-haired boy kneeled near the stand, taking a second to study it over, then clapped his hands, holding them over the wrecked stand. A light began to form from the ground beneath the stand which slowly began to become brighter and brighter still. A moment later, the man's stand was repaired, in condition good enough to call it new, in fact. The boy did the same for the crushed fruit on the ground, alchemically recomposing the fruit, it being four apples, three oranges and a handful of grapes, and handing it back to the man, who was awestruck. "Wow...that was amazing...", the man whispered before a notion dawned on him. "Wait...", the man murmured quietly, his tone raising slightly as he went on, "...I saw you coming out of the military base earlier. I remember hearing that the one that the people in the East call the Sapphire Heart alchemist had to see the Fuhrer today. You couldn't be--" "--Yup, Kei Mikado, at your service.", Kei interrupted, which got the attention of everyone else around the two of them even moreso.

"The Sapphire Heart alchemist, huh?", Kei heard a cocky voice say behind him, causing him to turn around and see who it was that spoke, seeing a well-built boy younger than he was sporting spiky brown hair wearing a red muscle shirt and red pants, as well as two more boys, one about the same build as the first boy, but with long black hair and blue clothes similar to the first boy's, and the other being built about the same as Kei was with short red hair, wearing a completely black outfit consisting of a long-sleeved black shirt and black pants, the outfit being offset by black boots and a black headband. He also wore shades similar to those that Kei wore. This one had his hands pocketed as the other two walked in front of him, the brown haired one being the one that shot off his mouth first, with the black haired one walking beside him as if to say "I've got your back."

"Who'dve thought that the Sapphire Heart alchemist would make his way here?", the boy asked, though he was only half serious as he went on with a smirk. "You messed up getting involved in our business, guy.", he commented, to which Kei simply shrugged. The black-haired one piped up next, to Kei's amusement. "Think of how our reputations would skyrocket if we could knock such a well-known up and coming alchemist off the map!" Thinking of just that, the two boys in front began to to advance slowly towards Kei, who pulled his hands up from his sides, shrugging his shoulders. He turned his gaze towards the man who owned the fruit stand for but a moment. "Sorry, sir, but you'll have to hold on for just a moment.", he told him. "I promise this won't take long." "Yeah, you're right about that!", the black-haired boy yelled, charging in fist first towards Kei as the stand owner scrambled to a more safe area where he could spectate, the townspeople that were further away already doing so. Little did they know that Fuery, a military man who worked close to Mustang, was among the throngs of townspeople, watching the ongoing squabble as well. _"This should be interesting."_, he thought, watching, prepared to take notes on anything of worthiness he saw. He would not be disappointed.

As the black-haired boy charged in towards Kei, he quickly lowered his sunglasses just enough to show his eyes, them bearing a bright brown color about on par with his skin tone, then he dodged the boy's punch, and rather easily at that. The brutish man threw another punch, at which point Kei caught his arm, shifting his weight to toss the man over his shoulder and to the ground near effortlessly with a judo-like maneuver. He landed hard on his back, wincing in pain, and decided it'd be best to leave the fight to his friends. The brown-haired boy hurriedly drew a small transmutation circle into the ground as Kei watched him, conjuring up a blunt object akin to a club. "You're not gonna get the better of me!", the boy hollered, charging at Kei with his weapon overhead, swinging it down at Kei's head as he closed the gap. Kei clapped his hands, bringing one of them up to touch the weapon the boy had created as he swung it down, shocking the boy as he looked in the next moment after a flash of light to see that he was now attacking the silver-haired boy with a bouquet of flowers. "Aw, you shouldn't have.", Kei mocked him, taking the flowers and setting them aside casually. The boy on the ground looked on, dumbstruck, while the boy in front of him, angry at being stood up, ran over to a nearby meat truck, grabbing a meat cleaver from the manager of it, rushing towards Kei wildly, the blade raised above his head. Kei blinked, then shook his head disdainfully. "You really are serious about this, aren't you...?", he said, almost sounding sad, seeing that the boy was now showing intent to kill. "I guess I've got no choice, then." He clapped his hands again, just as the boy charged in with the blade, sidestepping the boy's vicious attack as his two peers watched on. Just as he sidestepped the swipe, he placed two fingers on the joint of the arm he swung with near the elbow, then quickly dodged a swift kick the boy threw at him, placing his other two fingers at the joint of that leg behind his knee. Immediately after doing this, he turned to walk away, heading towards the military base. "You think this is over?!", the boy yelled, starting to go running after Kei. The red-haired boy raised his arm, about to warn his companion not to move, but it was too late. No sooner than had the boy taken a step then did the muscles in his arm which carried the weapon tear, and the bone within his leg gave way, as though it were brittle. The boy fell to the ground, screaming in agony, much to the confusion of everyone that was watching and hadn't noticed Kei's swift movements.

_"Geez, that was brutal…"_, Fuery thought, his eyes wide at what he had just seen. _"If the Fuhrer thought he was interested before, wait until he hears about this!"_ Kei walked over to the only one of the three boys that hadn't tried to strike him, standing before him, wondering why he hadn't tried to fight him for all of a moment before pointing to the crying, screaming boy on the ground. "He'll live.", Kei informed the red-haired boy. "Just be sure to get him to a doctor or I can't guarantee he'll be able to walk for a good long time." _"He used human transmutation..."_, the red-haired boy mused as he checked on his comrade. _"...he changed the composition of his muscle tissue and the very bones in his body, and so abruptly. Just who is this guy, the Sapphire Heart alchemist...?"_

As Kei walked off, the owner of the fruit stand caught up to him. "Excuse me, sir...", the store owner called to him, "...but that was amazing. Is...is there anything I can do to repay you for stopping these hoodlums from doing harm to my stand again?" Kei blinked, then walked over to the stand, noticing how hastily the military had arrived to neutralize the three thugs as he did so, grabbing an apple as he walked off. "This'll do.", he said, heading back towards the military building in the middle of Central._"Mustang's got some explaining to do."_, he thought with a grimace._"That whole incident wasn't coincidental, I'm thinking, and I want to know what's up."_

_0 0 0 0 0 _

Author's Notes: I hope anyone that reads this enjoyed the first chapter. The second chapter will be written by my buddy Darago, so check back here, and look him up while you're at it, as it might not be long before he begins pumping out stories of his own. Either way, we hope the story is good. We accept criticism, be it good or bad, so fire away, and keep watch for the next chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey there, folks. Do you remember that guy that the author mentioned in the last chapter? I am he. I go by Darago around these parts, and I'm rather thrilled to be working on this with Mikado K., my good friend and an all-around amazing guy. I don't have any stories published myself yet, so don't bother checking out my profile; that being said, now that I've started writing again, I may get off my butt and type something original up. Probably not, though. Don't count on it, in any case.

Now, with introductions out of the way, let Chapter Two commence!

_Disclaimer:_ I do not, in any way, shape, or form, own the rights to Fullmetal Alchemist. Actually, I don't technically have the rights to this story's original concept, either. Would that make this _Fan-_fan fiction? Ay, me…

_Italics_ denote thoughts, context specific moments aside.

_**The Sapphire Heart Alchemist**_

_**Chapter 2**_

Kei marched through the halls of the Fuhrer's building, passing various nameless personnel on his way. He knew people were staring at him—with no obvious escort, everybody knew that he wasn't really supposed to be here—but he didn't care. Occasionally, one of the soldiers in blue might grab him by the arm and ask, "You got business here, kid?" or something similar, but he shook them off, determined. At last, Kei reached his destination. He tried the doorknob, but found it to be locked. Kei sighed and put his hands in his pockets. _Well, if that's how I've got to do it, _he grumbled, and kicked the door. It flew open and smacked against the wall, almost shutting again from the impact.

There, seated at his mahogany desk, was Fuhrer Roy Mustang. One elbow sat on the table, the side of his face resting on his hand; the other hand held documents of some kind, which the Fuhrer's one good eye was absentmindedly scanning. Mustang glanced briefly at the intruder, then diverted his attention back to the documents in his hand. "You could have knocked, you know," he muttered after a moment.

Kei ignored him, getting straight to the point. "Why did you send those guys to attack me?"

Mustang glanced up again, his expression changing from one of boredom to one of mild amusement. "My, my, you were attacked?" Mustang repeated, closing his eye and shaking his head. "And on your first day in Central, too. We sure do know how to make a first impression here, don't we?"

Kei sighed. "Two teenagers attacked me, completely without provocation, while I was fixing a man's food cart." He walked forward, coming to rest in front of the Fuhrer's desk. Kei leaned down, meeting Mustang's amused gaze. "Are you implying that that just…_happened?_"

Mustang put on a look of fake confusion. "Just what else would I be implying? You don't actually think that _I_, the humble Fuhrer of this nation, would send a couple of _goons _to beat up someone like you in my own capital city?"

Kei growled, straightening up. "Look, I'm not asking for much. All I want is an explanation."

Mustang diverted his attention back to the documents. "Kei, I'm telling you that I didn't—"

Then the window ruptured with an audible _crash_ as a shockwave rippled through Central. Kei ducked under the flying shards of glass and shut his eyes tight as the shockwave blasted through him. Mustang whirled around to see a colossal fireball rising above the merchant's district of the city. "Just what the _hell _was that?!?" Kei exclaimed, rising from the ground.

"_That,_" Mustang answered, his voice steely, "was something that now requires my complete and undivided attention." With that, he stood up and began walking toward the door.

"Wait."

Mustang peered over his shoulder. Kei's face was set, a determined and somewhat concerned expression on it. "I'm coming with you," he said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Mustang nodded, grinning slightly. With that, the two dashed out of the room.

--- --- --- --- ---

_"_Help me,_somebody_!"

"Oh God, it _hurts!_"

Kei shivered involuntarily, a chill running down his back. No matter how many times he heard the pained pleas of the wounded, it never failed to scare him a bit. Steeling himself, he began scanning through the smoke left over from the explosion. Most of the civilians caught in the blast were already dead; but a few lingered, holding on to their last traces of life.

"Please, _help me!_ I'm not dead yet!"

"Sir, we're going to, but we need to get you to a proper facility first—"

"No! I don't want to die!"

"Sir, if you'll just calm down—"

Kei looked over to the right, where the conversation was coming from. There, his face contorted in pain, was a man on a stretcher, being hauled off by two soldiers. The man was missing both his legs from the knees down, and blood spilled from the stumps like water from a faucet.

"Stop," he called to the soldiers. He dashed over to them and motioned them to set down the stretcher.

"What are you gonna do, kid?" One inquired of him. He was a tall, slim man, probably in his thirties or so. "Put him out of his misery?"

"Yeah, something like that," Kei responded, clapping his hands.

"No, don't!" The man on the stretcher screamed. "I don't wanna die!" He continued screaming, even as Kei rested his hands on the man's stomach. Then, there was a sharp blue light, and both of the man's lower legs began re-forming, newly created flesh and bone knitting itself together. Still, the man screamed, until the blue light faded and there was no trace of the enormous wound from before.

"Oh my _God_," the soldier from before exclaimed. "What did you _do_?"

Kei stood up, wobbling slightly. His hands were shaking, and his breath came in short, audible pants. "I…I fixed him," he exhaled, gazing down at his work. Were it not for the crimson soaking the otherwise white stretcher, no one would ever know the man had been wounded in a massive explosion. But Kei's satisfaction was short-lived; white-hot pain shot through his chest, and he let out a sharp cry, coming down to the ground on one knee. The soldiers broke out of their astonishment and rushed over to Kei, resting their hands on his shoulders and asking him if he was okay. _No, I'm not, you idiots,_ he thought. _Does it _look _like I'm okay?_ Despite his thoughts, he straightened up shakily and shook them off. "I'll be fine," he finally managed to say. "Go get…go get this guy to his family." With that, he stumbled off from the site, not hearing the cries of thanks from the healed man.

Kei trudged into an alley, coming to a stop and resting himself against the brick and mortar. His lower arm was positioned on the wall, and Kei leaned down, allowing his head to droop. "Goddammit," he let out between coughs and wheezes, "that was a tough one." The pain from before cut through him again, and Kei moaned, falling to his knees and clutching his chest.

Once he had his breathing under control, Kei got up again, allowing his hand to once again rest against the brick. He examined the underside of his wrist, and let out a cry of frustration at what he saw. _Oh, Goddammit,_ he cried inwardly. _I can almost see a little violet…_Kei sighed as the last of the pain began to fade. _Oh, well. It'll fade in a few minutes, like usual._ Kei moved out from the alley, scanning again for injured persons. He still had a lot of work to do, after all.

--- --- --- --- ---

"Fury, I want a damage report, stat!"

"Right away, sir."

"Riza, did you get any information on who we think did this?"

"Not yet, Fuhrer. Personally, I'd imagine it's the usual culprits again, sir."

"Sir, I have the report you requested!"

"_And_?"

"Twenty-seven dead, seventeen wounded. Estimated cost of destroyed property: One million, one-hundred six thousand dollars."

"That much?"

"That much, sir."

"Well…fine. Get someone on public relations, if you haven't already. Anderson! Where the hell are my cigarettes?"

After the messy job of cleaning up bodies had been completed, Kei and Mustang had returned to Central. Once back, Mustang had immediately assumed duties as leader; he was swift and efficient, sorting out the mess with a practiced efficiency. He exuded leadership, and everyone else followed, like the cogs in a giant, well-oiled machine.

Kei, meanwhile, was resting against the wall, arms folded. No trace of his past exhaustion could be seen, save for his brow being a bit damp. His eyes flitted from person to person, taking in the frantic yet composed motions of the bureaucrats and soldiers. Everything moved with a tireless sort of chaos, something one might expect whilst trying to deal with a disaster.

"Schmidt! The people are going to want me to say something angry when I make a speech. It's your job to come up with something that will diffuse them."

"Aw, c'mon! They all got the easy jobs!"

"Schmidt, I _pay_ you to write my speeches when I don't have the time to. It's a pretty easy job for you, because I usually do. But I'm calling on you this time. Get on it!"

"…Right away, sir."

"Fuhrer, we've found out who planted the bomb!"

"Oh?"

"Yes, sir. It's as I suspected." The blonde-haired woman from before—_Riza_, Kei recalled—handed some papers to Mustang. He scanned over it, mouthing the words as he went, before furrowing his brow and setting the papers down.

"Well, dammit."

"Yes, sir."

Then, there was a lull in the rush. Kei chose this time to approach Mustang. "So," he inquired, "who planted that bomb?"

Mustang, who had previously been staring intently at the floor, broke from his reverie and leveled his gaze at the silver-haired boy. "I don't think this concerns you, Sapphire Heart." He turned and began to walk towards one of his subordinates' desks, but Kei stopped him, grabbing his arm.

"Listen," he said. "I may not be part of the military, but I like to think that I serve the common good. I'd _really_ like it if you told me what you knew."

Mustang sighed. "Well," he said, "fine. If you really must know, I'll tell you." He turned to face Kei. "They call themselves the Light of Ishbala. They're a small radical Ishbalan sect that believes_passionately_ that all citizens of Amestris must pay for what was done to the Ishbalan race." Mustang paused to take a breath, his right hand coming up to rub his face. "It's not that I can't see their point," he muttered after a pause, "but violence will only beget more violence, and I have to look out for my own citizens, in any case." His lips turned upward ever so slightly on one side. "Now, as long as we're telling secrets," he said, "_you_ have to tell me what was wrong with you today."

Kei stiffened. "What do you mean, Fuhrer? I was perfectly fine."

Mustang shook his head. "Oh, come off it. Does someone who's perfectly fine just collapse in an alley?"

Kei sighed. "Look, my business is my own. I suggest you mind yours."

Mustang cocked an eyebrow. "Very well," he relented. "In all seriousness, though, if you want information from me, I expect some in return." And then he was gone, off to speak to another subordinate.

_The Light of Ishbala, huh?_ Kei pondered. He mentally shrugged. _I guess that's the most I'm getting out of him today. Oh, well. I have to go book a hotel, anyway._ With that, he turned towards the door and began walking. The cool evening air was on him in a few moments, and he stopped just outside the entrance to take it in for a moment.

"You're Kei Mikado, right?"

Kei whirled around so he was almost facing the door again. There, leaning against the side of the building with his arms folded, was the red-haired boy from before. "You," Kei remarked. "How's your buddy?"

"He's been better." The red-haired boy pushed himself off the wall and began to approach Kei. "My name is Drake Roberts," he introduced, extending his right hand. "I'd like to talk with you, if you don't mind."

Kei took Drake's hand and shook it lightly. "You got it right—Kei Mikado," he said. "And no, I don't mind."

--- --- --- --- ---

It was the last hours of the night, and someone was out, dashing toward a small, unassuming stone building. He knocked on the ramshackle wooden door. A small slot opened, and two red eyes peered out, examining the visitor. He was a thin, lanky man, with close-cropped brown hair and an expression that had a permanent look of worry emblazoned on it. His beige clothing was comprised of nothing more than a simple sleeveless shirt and pants. The red eyes noted all of this; then the slot was shut, and the door creaked open.

"Come in," the stout man that the red eyes belonged to commanded. "The master is waiting for you."

The lanky man did as instructed. A large stone staircase leading downwards into blackness dominated the inside of the structure; what little else there was—a small wooden table and chairs, a couple of books piled in the corner—was illuminated by a number of torches along the wall. Fidgeting, he proceeded to the staircase, prodded by the heavyset doorman, and began his descent.

It was not long before the darkness gave way to a pale, orange glow; then the staircase ended, and the torchlight became stronger as the man entered the lower chamber of the building. It was far more expansive than the top; large tables arranged in an orderly fashion were topped with numerous documents, memos, and plans. The walls were adorned with crimson banners and countless maps depicting various Amestris cities. Normally, there would have been dozens of people poring over these things; but it was night, and all personnel had gone home. Seated at the very end of the chamber was a solitary man; he took note of the messenger and waved him over, directing him to sit.

"The bombing went well, I trust?"

"Y-yes, sir. Everything went as p-planned."

"And?"

"…And what, s-sir?"

"What do you think?"

"Oh! Uh…I counted about two dozen dead, sir."

The apparent leader grinned; his teeth were an eerie white against the tan and orange of their surroundings. "Good. I always love hearing the casualties." The messenger gulped and grabbed at his collar, tugging on it lightly. The leader noted this; his grin grew wider, and he asked, "Am I making you nervous, boy?"

The messenger pulled at his collar again. "N-no, sir. You most certainly are not."

The leader chuckled, then set his face again. "We will proceed with the next phase of our operation tomorrow. The Amestrisians will feel our pain! Now, go home, young man. Get some sleep."

"Y-y-yes, sir!" The tall man dashed towards the stairs and up them.

The leader laughed with sardonic glee. _The FOOLS!_ He exclaimed mentally. _So easy to motivate with a few cries for vengeance. They really have no idea how I'm playing them, do they?_

He closed his eyes, and his laughter reverberated throughout the chamber.

--- --- --- --- ---

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, folks! Mikado K., of course, will write the next chapter. Have fun, and make sure to give constructive criticism! God knows that both of us need it.


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